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nternet service provider Link Net, which is known for its broadband Internet service FastNet, expects to reap up to Rp 487 billion (US$42.3 million) from an initial public offering (IPO) it plans to launch early next month.

Link Net, which is a subsidiary of the Lippo Group-affiliated multimedia firm, First Media, will float 304.3 million shares or 10 percent of its enlarged capital to the public in the IPO.

Shares will be priced at between Rp 1,575 and Rp 1,600, with the book-building period scheduled to run through May 9. The company has appointed PT Ciptadana Securities as the offering'€™s underwriter.

At this price range, Link Net expected to raise between Rp 479 billion and Rp 487 billion to finance part of First Media'€™s content and in-house channel development this year, Link Net director and corporate secretary Dicky Moechtar said Friday.

As of December, First Media held a 66.06 percent stake in Link Net, with the remaining 33.94 percent owned by Asia Link Dewa Pte. Ltd. After the IPO, First Media'€™s share ownership will be reduced to 56.06 percent.

Dicky said that, meanwhile, Link Net would spend Rp 1.03 trillion this year on increasing the number of set-top boxes, modems and other internet equipment for subscribers.

'€œFrom the allocated funds, around 80 to 90 percent will come from our internal cash, while the remainder will come from bank loans and vendor financing,'€ he said, adding that Citibank would be among the lenders.

Dicky said he expected the capital expenditure to boost Link Net'€™s business in the country'€™s growing Internet market, particularly in the Greater Jakarta area. He said his company aimed to increase its revenue and net profits by 25 percent this year and to increase its total subscribers from all segments by 20 percent.

Link Net currently has 332,900 broadband Internet subscribers and provides Internet services to over
1 million households in Greater Jakarta and Surabaya, East Java.

The firm also has more than 1,100 corporate clients for its data communication services as well as 329,000 cable television subscribers.

Dicky said that cable television services made up 57.3 percent of Link Net'€™s total revenue last year, while its broadband Internet and data communication services accounted for 33.2 percent.

Link Net pocketed Rp 1.66 trillion in revenue last year, a 27.7 percent increase from Rp 1.3 trillion the previous year, according to its financial report.

The firm'€™s net profits rose by 6.8 percent to Rp 362.2 billion last year, up from Rp 339.03 billion in 2012.

Link Net president director Roberto Feliciano said in a statement that he was upbeat that his company would perform better this year, as Internet demand kept rising and remained under-served.

Dicky said that besides operating in Jakarta and Surabaya, the firm planned to expand its services to Bandung, West Java, later this year.